BACKGROUND: Shelters and similar facilities with a high concentration and fluctuation of animals often have problems with various infections, which are usually difficult to solve in such environments and are very expensive to treat. This study investigated the eradication of Microsporum canis, the widespread cause of zoonotic dermatophytosis in shelters, even in immunosuppressed feline leukaemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus positive cats. RESULTS: Our study showed the increased effectiveness of an alternative topical therapy for affected animals using the mycoparasitic fungus Pythium oligandrum, which is gentler and cheaper than the standard systemic treatment with itraconazole, and which can also be easily used as a preventative treatment. A decrease in the number of M. canis colonies was observed in cats treated with a preparation containing P. oligandrum 2 weeks after the start of therapy (2 cats with P-1 score, 2 cats with P-2 score, 5 cats with P-3 score) compared with the beginning of the study (9 cats with P-3 score = massive infection). The alternative topical therapy with a preparation containing P. oligandrum was significantly more effective compared with the commonly used systemic treatment using itraconazole 5 mg/kg in a 6-week pulse. After 16 weeks of application of the alternative topical therapy, the clinical signs of dermatophytosis were eliminated throughout the whole shelter. CONCLUSION: The complete elimination of the clinical signs of dermatophytosis in all cats indicates that this therapy will be useful for the management and prevention of zoonotic dermatophytosis in animal shelters.

• Keywords
• Animal shelter, Dermatophytosis, FIV, FeLV, Itraconazole, Microsporum canis, Pythium oligandrum,
• MeSH
• Antifungal Agents administration & dosage   adverse effects   therapeutic use   MeSH
• Administration, Topical MeSH
• Dermatomycoses microbiology   prevention & control   therapy   veterinary   MeSH
• Itraconazole therapeutic use   MeSH
• Cats MeSH
• Lentivirus Infections veterinary   MeSH
• Microsporum * MeSH
• Cat Diseases drug therapy   microbiology   prevention & control   MeSH
• Pilot Projects MeSH
• Pythium * MeSH
• Retroviridae Infections veterinary   MeSH
• Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline isolation & purification   MeSH
• Leukemia Virus, Feline isolation & purification   MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Cats MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Antifungal Agents MeSH
• Itraconazole MeSH

Trichophyton quinckeanum, a zoophilic dermatophyte mostly known as the causative agent of rodent favus, is relatively rarely reported to cause human infections. Indeed, no infections were detected in Czechia between 2012 and 2015 despite routine verification of species identification by ITS rDNA sequencing. By contrast, 25 human and 11 animal cases of infection were documented from December 2016 to December 2020 and the rates tended to grow every following year. Interestingly, most of the cases were reported in the Olomouc region, suggesting a local outbreak. We bring the evidence that human T. quinckeanum infections are most commonly contracted from infected cats or, less frequently, dogs. Although rodents or contaminated soil and environment could be the source of infection to cats and dogs, the occurrence of infections in multiple animals in the same household suggests direct transmission among animals. Confirmation of the identification by molecular methods is highly recommended due to morphological similarity with T. mentagrophytes/T. interdigitale. Antifungal susceptibility testing of isolates to eight antifungals was performed using EUCAST methodology (E.Def 11.0). Among the tested antifungals, terbinafine, amorolfine, ciclopirox and efinaconazole were most potent in vitro and elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations were obtained for fluconazole and ketoconazole.

• Keywords
• EUCAST, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, antifungal susceptibility testing, terbinafine, tinea capitis, tinea corporis, zoonotic infections, zoophilic dermatophytes,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Objectives Dermatophytosis, commonly known as ringworm, is a superficial fungal skin disease and zoonosis. Pythium oligandrum is a micromycete with mycoparasitic properties that is used in agriculture to control fungal infections on plants. Formulations containing P oligandrum were also developed for the treatment of dermatophytoses, but only a small number of case studies have been published. In order to document the process in simplified conditions in vitro, we investigated the effectiveness of P oligandrum against three pathogenic dermatophytes common in domestic animals. Methods Cultures of the pathogens grown on nutrient media and experimentally infected cat hair were treated with P oligandrum preparations in therapeutic concentration and the changes were documented by microscopic videos and scanning electron microscopy. Results There was strong mycoparasitic activity of P oligandrum against Microsporum canis, Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Conclusions and relevance P oligandrum was demonstrated to be effective against three common causes of dermatophytosis in vitro.

• MeSH
• Antifungal Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Cats MeSH
• Microsporum drug effects   MeSH
• Cat Diseases drug therapy   microbiology   MeSH
• Parasitic Sensitivity Tests veterinary   MeSH
• Pythium * MeSH
• Tinea drug therapy   microbiology   veterinary   MeSH
• Trichophyton drug effects   MeSH
• Hair microbiology   MeSH
• Treatment Outcome MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Cats MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Antifungal Agents MeSH